The Finnish Line
by coffee dazed
Summary: my first Glee fic, please be kind and hope you like it. K rated at the moment, may raise later.
1. Chapter 1

**The Finn-ish Line**

_**Disclaimer: I do not and will never own anything related to Glee. I make absolutely no profit, it's just for fun**_

_**Note: this is my first Glee fic so please be gentle**_

**_Inspired by the sexy look and growl Finn gave Tina in 'Hell-o' and I admit to being a bit of a Finn/Tina (Fina/Tinn?) fan :p_

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Dear sweet Lord! Kurt thought he was having palpitations as he watched the way Finn strutted and rolled his body around the gleeks as he gave his performance of The Doors' 'Hello, I Love You'. He could barely speak when the star quarterback had moved near him – this would fuel his Finn-fantasies for some time to come.

Finn had no idea what had come over him when he began his song – all he knew was that it suddenly unleashed his inner rockstar and it felt great! The sense of freedom and being able to be whoever he wanted was phenomenal as was the knowledge that he had regained his top stud status with the most popular girls in the school – The Cheerios. However, it wasn't a cheerleader's uniform that had caught his eye.

* * *

It had been a momentous decision when Finn Hudson, jock and all-round Mr. Popularity, had joined Glee Club and it was clear to all that he hadn't initially felt comfortable with this new circle of misfits and, well, geeks. Between Kurt the fashionista; the diva-like Mercedes; over-achieving, over-bearing Rachel and the thick-lensed, wheelchair-bound Artie, Finn was in no doubt that he was the coolest kid in the class.

The only person who he hadn't been sure about was the goth girl with the blue streaks and stutter who seemed to do nothing but glare defensively at everyone – everyone that was, except Artie. With her dark clothing and black make-up, Tina Cohen-Chang was unlike anyone else he had known but that all changed when it came out that her stutter had been faked and a rift was created between her and the boy that Coach Sylvester so callously nick-named 'Wheels'. Gone was the 'don't-care' attitude to be replaced by a softer, more open side although the chains, big boots and make-up remained the same. Now, she appeared more vulnerable – more like everyone else.

As he sang his way into the Glee Club's rehearsal room, he hadn't initially noticed anyone in particular since all eyes were on him anyway and as he neared the finale, he spotted just the person who could take his purring delivery of 'I want you. I need my baby.'

He was struck by her outfit that day, black mesh top which showed the white vest underneath and red net tutu with fitted black underskirt all topped off by one of her many hats which, today, was a black and red-striped beanie.

Finn loved the way Tina had cheekily responded to his approach, pouting and shoulder-shimmying with him, letting her silver chains swing in time to the motion. He hadn't noticed before how pretty she was when she smiled and how her whole face lit up and the way it made him wonder why she chose to face the world with a sulky mask most of the time.

* * *

If she had been any other girl, Tina knew that she would have swooned into a puddle of goo when Finn had sung to her. But she was not any other girl, she was the goth – emo – alternative – (it seemed nobody could decide outright what label to put on her) girl and she had a reputation to maintain. Sure, she still got slushied for the way she looked and for being in Glee Club but that was partly her decision. Tina realised that had she chosen to hang out purely with the goth kids, then she probably would have avoided most, or all, of the slushies that had come her way but she didn't. Instead, she had chosen to throw her lot in with a bunch of social outcasts, especially a crippled boy and look how that had turned out.

Nevertheless, she wouldn't have it any other way. Being a 'gleek' gave her an outlet for her emotions, to sing away her troubles and she enjoyed every second of it and besides, it turned out that Glee club wasn't just for geeks – look at Puck and the other jocks and the two Cheerios.

She had watched in detached amusement at how the Finn/Quinn/Rachel/Puck scenario had played out – glad that she wasn't so dumb as to get involved in anything like that. _No_, she told herself disgustedly, _you prefer to lie to the one guy you actually care about and you have to make it a big lie!_ Nope, she wasn't one to throw stones at anyone else and she was glad that she wasn't about to start getting stupid and needy about someone else as Rachel was doing with Finn now that they seemed to become an item.

In any case, there was no point speculating because Tina knew that a guy like Finn would never be interested in girl like her, would he?

* * *

_**Many sincere and humble apologies for the title – it's so cheesy, I had to use it!**_

_**So that's my first effort, what do you think? should i continue? Please review x**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks to SunniXSon for her lovely review. Hope u like this next chapter x

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"So I thought we could go get some samples from the fabric shop to get ideas for new outfits then we can get a smoothie afterwards before going to my house to practice. Then on Saturday, I've got an appointment at the hair salon…" Rachel paused and squinted at Finn critically. "Hmm, you could probably do with getting something done as well…blah, blah, blah…"

_Blah, blah, blah…_ or at least, that was what it sounded like to Finn's ears as his brain started to fade out Rachel's constant chatter and his eyes became slightly glazed as he stared ahead out over the athletics track. _Jeez!_ He'd always known how much the girl could talk but this was getting ridiculous, especially now that they were supposed to be official and he couldn't just walk away from it like he used to. Scanning the track and field and beyond, Finn's vision stopped at a lone figure sitting high up on the bleachers at the far side of the track. There were plenty of students who sat there alone, taking the opportunity to catch some sunshine while they could but this one was different. He recognised the black and red tartan trousers with the chunky chain looping from it and wide-necked, short sleeved black tee.

Finn was brought back to earth with the sound of a slightly high-pitched, "So that's all set, then?"

He looked at Rachel with a blank expression. He hadn't the faintest idea what she had been saying to him so he opted for his usual tactic of mumbling, "Uh-huh, sure," and nodding uncertainly.

It seemed to please her and she gave his arm an affectionate squeeze before skipping away saying, "I need to go see Mr. Shue, I've got some new ideas which I want to run by him."

* * *

Tina had her earphones plugged in and her head was bent over a Biology textbook, in particular a page which she had been staring at for over ten minutes now and if asked, she still couldn't say what it was about. In reality, she was listening to Debussy's 'Clair de Lune'. It would surprise everyone if it was ever found out that the resolutely goth girl didn't actually like metal music very much and her musical taste ranged most genres from Mozart to Abba via Free, Deep Purple and Sarah MacLachlan - there was a bit of everything on her MP3.

Sitting alone in the bleachers now that the weather was good had become her latest escape from the whole Artie situation and she felt better that way, letting herself dream away to her own personal soundtrack.

Her state of alone-ness was broken by a shadow appearing on the pages of the open book and a figure standing in front of her. Tina squinted up, temporarily blinded by the sunlight even as she shielded her eyes with her hand. It took a few moments for her vision to adjust.

"Hey." Finn stuck his hands in his pockets, he hadn't really thought much further ahead than 'Hi' and now he was at a loss as to what he wanted to say. He'd been struck by how isolated she appeared to be and it had moved him almost involuntarily to cross the field and go over to see how she was.

"Uh, hey," Tina replied uncertainly. This was unprecedented, never before had she had one of the popular boys approach her other than to launch an attack of sticky, slushy ice and she and Finn Hudson only spoke when they had to – usually when rehearsing for Glee Club.

It was unnerving having him standing there not saying anything so she had to ask, "Can I help you?"

"Eh… no." With a total mindblank, Finn was unaware that Tina was looking at him like he was one of those crazy bums that would sit next to some unfortunate passenger on a bus and just stare at them for the entire journey.

"Riighht," she drew out the word slowly before beginning to pack up her things. _Trust a big dumb jock to ruin my peace_, she fumed silently, placing her book in her backpack followed by her bottle of juice and the remnants of her sandwich wrapper.

"Wait, I was wanting to ask you what song you were going to use for Mr. Shue's assignment." It was the first thing he could think of to keep her there instead of running off and it was true that he was a bit stumped by their teacher's Glee homework of rehearsing a car-related song. He was positive there were plenty out there – he just couldn't think of them.

Tina paused in her bag-packing and looked at him slightly surprised, she would have thought that he would be all organised, especially with Rachel around. Tina would have bet her last dime that the super-motivated girl wouldn't let Finn do a bad assignment if only to maintain her own standards of 'perfection' if not for Finn's benefit.

She shrugged and he noticed how one side of her top slid down over a tanned shoulder to reveal a pink strap underneath. Finn told himself he noticed the tone of her skin because she was a goth and surely they were supposed to be pale whatever the weather? And he never thought of her choosing pink clothing and certainly not for underwear.

"Yeah," she answered, "I'm going to go for '500'" She saw his unknowing expression so she added, " 'Shake Baby Shake'?" Finn still looked lost so she finished with, "By 'Lush'?"

"Nope," he shook his head, "never heard it before. Is it any good?"

Black brows lifted over red eye-shadowed lids. "Are you kidding me?" She lifted her MP3 from her pocket and pressed a couple of buttons before standing on tiptoes and jamming her earphones into his ears. He watched as she pressed PLAY and the music began.

There was a vague look of concern on Tina's face as she wondered whether Finn liked the song or not but her fears were unfounded as his head began to bob in time towards the end. "So, what did you think?" she asked a little shyly.

"Yeah, it was good, kinda light and bouncy. I wasn't sure at the start but I liked it. So, how does it relate to cars?" Finn was surprised to find that he was genuinely interested and not just being polite.

A grin appeared as Tina began to tell the meaning of the song lyrics. "It's about the singer's infatuation with the Fiat 500 Topolino – it means 'little mouse' in Italian and it was a really small car that was built in, like, the 30's 'til the 50's. Apparently, it really was quite shaky and the brakes weren't great and you would quite often have to use the railway station because of its, um, quite basic design. Its top speed back then was fifty-three miles an hour and got roughly 39 miles a gallon. I heard they were going to be making a new type of Topolino based on …" she trailed off with a small gulp and a blush. She was definitely going to be guaranteed a slushie later that day or the next for being the ultimate goth/geek combination. This was the reason girls like her were ostracised and girls like Quinn Fabray weren't. Tina mentally inventoried her backpack and noted that she still carried a spare top and a travel sized pack of wet wipes. _Oh well, at least I'm prepared._

Whilst Tina was mentally preparing herself for a put-down, Finn was gazing at her with admiration. He had never heard a girl talk about cars and especially not with enthusiasm and knowledge. It appeared she was full of surprises and he was keen to learn more about this strange creature who didn't seem to say much but when she did, it wasn't the usual girly nonsense but something quite interesting.

"I gotta go," mumbled Tina hurriedly. "Hope you find a song to choose soon."

"Yeah, thanks," he called after her retreating back.

* * *

"Hey," Matt punched Finn lightly on the arm as they left the locker room to get onto the football field for practice.

"Hey," returned Finn. He turned to see Mike jog up to join them

"So," Matt leaned in conspiratorially, "what's the deal with goth-girl? The guys were asking."

"What d'you mean?" Finn was puzzled as they approached the rest of the team who were waiting on Coach Tanaka to arrive.

One of them called out with an utter lack of discretion, "Dude, in the bleachers today. You wanting to get away from Miss Priss and try something freaky?" There was a burst of laughter from the assembled guys and another joined in with, "Yeah, she must be pretty kinky if she's into cripples and wheelchairs."

Finn looked at his team-mates in disbelief. "Guys, no, it was just something for Glee." He was shocked at how cruel they were and he wondered if he had been as bad as them before he joined. Nevertheless, while he also felt offended for Tina, a tiny part of him did wonder if she _was_ freaky in the bedroom." He gave himself a shake and sternly told himself to forget about it. Being in Glee had damaged his reputation and being with Rachel had virtually destroyed his standing amongst the student population. Only being the quarterback had saved his dignity but he didn't think it would stand being linked with the weirdest of the Gleeks – unless it was to be a novelty notch on his bedpost.

Mike's face brightened when he heard Glee mentioned. "Oh yeah, the car song? What did you pick? I went for 'Little Red Corvette'. I'm working on some choreography for it – I can't wait." For some reason, Mike had managed the near-impossible feat of reconciling being both a jock and a Gleek but not getting the put-downs for it that the others suffered. He seemed to just go through school-life with an easy grin and laid-back attitude which won him many friends and very few enemies.

Puck gave 'Other Asian' a dirty, knowing smirk. " 'Little Red Corvette', huh? I don't think Prince was really singing about a car in that. You think Mr. Shue's gonna let you get away with that one?"

Mike threw him a lazy smile and casual shrug. "Sure, it's got a car in its title, right? But if he decides it's a no-go then I'll do 'Mustang Sally'.

Puck groaned. His friend and team-mate clearly had other things on his mind than just cars!

* * *

Football practice went well and it seemed the team were doing just fine and definitely improving, especially when they drafted in Kurt as their kicker. Finn showered and changed, heading home so he could help fix dinner for his mother coming in from work.

With dinner cooking away in the oven, he settled to tackle the problem of the Glee assignment. As he thought, images of a girl with blue-streaked hair and pictures of silver chains began to tangle in his head in strange and mysterious ways. The more he thought about Tina, the more he wanted to get to know her and as more than just friends.

Digging through, his mom's CD collection, he finally found something he liked the sound of and taking inspiration from Mike, decided it was appropriate if he wanted to send some type of message to a particular girl if he sang it to her. "Sleeping In My Car" by Roxette seemed suitably lively enough although the message might not have been as subtle as it might have been.

Just then, his cell beeped to tell him he had received a text. Rachel.

_Hi, wot time r u coming round? I've made dinner like I said and I got the song for us to practice. Xxx_

Oops! That must have been the part he must have missed hearing but agreed to anyway. Well, he knew he would have to apologise but he couldn't do it – he had already promised his mom. Finn pressed the key to reply, hesitating over the buttons and sighing. He wasn't looking forward to Rachel's reaction. Why couldn't she be more relaxed about things like…like…Tina, for instance?


	3. Chapter 3

Will Schuester's jaw dropped as he watched both horrified and impressed as Mike performed his first choice of song. It was an inspired performance as he danced and grinded his way through the song which despite meeting the homework criteria with its name, certainly did not in content and that was the reason he was aghast. While Mike did an amazing job, singing and moving with great skill and energy, Will was having flashbacks from the kids' performance of 'Push It' and he just knew should any parents see it, there would be complaints all over again. What's more, if Sue Sylvester got wind of it, she would have one more thing to try and shut down Glee Club with.

Despite all of those reasons, the most surprising thing was Tina, who Mike had somehow managed to talk into taking part in his routine. The normally quiet girl had turned into what he could only describe as a sexy goth who moved her body in time to her singer's gyrations and provided harmonies in smooth, clear tones. When Mike finished, he received a rousing round of applause and whistles whilst Tina was being regarded by the boys in a new way. The look on Artie's face made clear that he wasn't happy about this new development.

When the applause died down, Will cleared his throat. "Ahem, well done Mike, that was great but perhaps next time, you could concentrate a bit more on the _actual_ theme of the assignment." He raised an eyebrow at the jock who simply returned with an easy grin and a, "Sure, Mr. Shue."

"Right, then, who's next?" the teacher looked around at the group and spotted Tina who was just returning to her seat. "Tina, come on up, since your on your feet anyway, you can do your number." He leaned against the wall and waited for her to take to the floor. Will had heard about what he privately dubbed 'Stuttergate' and he wanted to see what she could do on her own. Of course, there had been all the fuss with Rachel over 'Tonight' but that had taken the shine off the solo and since then, the goth had never really put herself forward for any more songs.

* * *

Standing in front of the other kids, Tina shifted a little nervously as she waited for the band to begin playing.

When the car horn that the band brought in sounded its 'honk-honk' and the tune started, the change in her was evident as her back straightened and her eyes lit up, her expression becoming more open and her body visibly relaxed. Tina bobbed and danced in time to the tune, her voice expressing happiness and lightness. She smiled brightly when Mercedes and Kurt came from a corner of the classroom carrying a life-size cut-out of the Fiat 500 Topolino painted red just like in the video which they then held in place in front of Tina and themselves as if they were inside the car.

It was a side to her that the others had never seen before, not even Artie. A happy emo-goth? Surely there was no such thing but that was the sight that was before them and her care-free enthusiasm was infectious as the group clapped their hands and swayed along.

"That was great, Tina." He looked at his watch and addressed his Glee Club. "OK, time's up for today but remember that I'll hear the ones who didn't sing today next time so keep practising. Uh, Mike, maybe you could do another song too, one that we might be able to show the parents and school council."

"Alright, sir. I already had another song prepared."

* * *

Finn was at his locker putting away his books from his last class of the day when he heard the voices of Puck, Matt and a couple of the other jocks drifting from a nearby classroom.

"No way!" That was a guy called Tom.

"You better believe it, never seen anything like it, hell, never thought she was even capable of it," said Matt.

"Really? You aren't kidding?"

"Nuh-uh. She was smokin' hot." Puck grinned. "Artie's gotta be pissed that he let her go after seeing that. Mike was a lucky guy."

"A hot goth, huh? I'm tempted to join Glee just to check that out."

Puck became speculative. "I might just see if she's free this Friday and find out just how hot she can really get."

Finn's ears burned with angry indignation at hearing this. _Asshole!_ First he betrays their friendship and gets his girlfriend pregnant then he tried his luck with Rachel only to drop her when he got as far with her as he could and now he's setting his sights on Tina. It was almost as if Puck was going out of his way to mess up Finn's life!

He closed his locker door with more force than was necessary and marched out of the front door, nearly knocking over Kurt in the process who had no complaints about being bowled over by the object of his affection.

* * *

"Whoa! Sorry, I didn't see you there," apologised Finn.

"No problem," breathed Kurt, who noticed the scowl on Finn's forehead. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. He didn't know what came over him but he began to have a little rant to Kurt. "Some people are just so arrogant, think they can just waltz around doing whatever they want to whoever they want and then walk away when things don't turn out how they want."

Kurt wasn't completely positive who was being talked about but he could make a good guess. The next sentience confirmed his suspicions.

"He thinks he's God's gift to women and they actually fall for it!" He looked worriedly at his football team's effeminate kicker. "Uh, Kurt, you know Tina pretty well, don't you?"

Kurt shrugged. "As well as anyone can. I mean, Artie is – was – her best friend and even he didn't know her as well as he thought. Why do you ask?"

"Ah, nothing." Finn was about to walk on when he stopped. "Do you think she'd go for Puck?"

Kurt tilted his head as pondered the question. "I'd say 'no' but then I would have said 'no' about Rachel and lots of other girls too." He scrutinised the quarterback. "How come?"

"Uh, no reason," floundered Finn. "Just wondered – something he said after we saw her sing today."

"Oh my, yes, she was great. I just wish she'd let me work on her style a bit, she could be my greatest work of art yet." He sighed wistfully at the thought of being able to give Tina a completely Kurt-tastic makeover.

Finn was about to reply when Rachel approached them and looped her arm around his elbow. She was already talking and Kurt looked at her before swiftly moving on with a quick, "Hi, bye."

"Sorry about the other night, I double booked by mistake and I couldn't leave my mom."

"It's alright," Rachel smiled tightly. "What about tonight? Are you still able to make it?"

"Uh, no, I need to do this Math homework and I'm pretty tired after this week. I just want to get through tomorrow and then chill over the weekend, do a bit of study." Finn didn't like lying but he felt backed into a corner and it wasn't a total lie - he was, indeed, flunking Math.

"Finn, did you listen to anything I said to you about our schedule? I've the whole weekend planned." She put her hand on her hip.

"I'm sorry, Rachel, but this is important. I'm practically flunking that class, I can't afford to fail it."

"I can help you with that, then we can do the weekend like we wanted."

"This is something I need to do for myself. What would happen when it comes to the exams and I haven't a clue 'cos I let other people do my work for me?"

"But our plans," whined Rachel.

"_Your_ plans. Rachel, I have no idea what they are and to be honest, I just wanna relax, not rush about doing a zillion things I don't even like." He realised too late what he had said.

"You don't like what I do?" her voice trembled a little and Finn saw the tears beginning to build.

"No, sorry, I mean yes. Oh, Rachel, all I seem to do these days is apologise to you all the time." He sighed. "I think maybe we a time-out so we can just a bit of breathing space…"

"_Breathing space_?" her voice grew louder.

Finn didn't notice the danger he was in and he continued on, "so we don't suffocate…"

"_I suffocate you?_" she rose an octave. She stood back from him and aimed a firm slap at his cheek. Her hand met his face with a sharp smack. "Forget about a time-out, it's permanently off. _We are over_!" Rachel ran away from her, tears stinging her eyes which she angrily wiped away.

"Rachel, wait, I didn't mean it like that," Finn shouted after her but she was already far from him. He took a deep breath. Did he mean it like that? Possibly. Perhaps he just meant to say it differently, more gently.

* * *

_Beep beep_. Tina Cohen-Chang checked the text that came through and frowned in puzzlement. It was from Puck, asking her if she was free tomorrow and if she wanted to go out with him.

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**Thnk you to everyone who's reading, reviewing and generally following this fic :D**

**Sorry for the short chapter, hope to give u a bit more for the next one.**

**x**


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey, hows it goin? Wanna go out Friday? Puck._

Tina stared at the message and thought about how Puck-like it was – no courtesies, no messing, just blunt and to the point. It was unchartered territory for her, nobody had ever asked her out before as she had always been very shy and introverted despite her outward appearance. The only reason Artie had paid her any attention was because she had actively sought out his company. To now find one of the school's most notorious jocks asking her out was daunting and she wasn't convinced about it being such a good idea but a small voice in the back of her mind argued that she should go for it seeing as she wasn't exactly inundated with offers.

She let her thumb move quickly over the keys.

_Where were u thinking? Speak tomorrow about it._

There, that should buy her a bit more time to make a decision about Puck.

Tina let her gaze roam around the walls of her room before it settled on her schoolbag and the homework and textbooks that waited for her. She pulled a face, she didn't dislike homework, she quite enjoyed it when she got started – it was the getting started that was the problem. Tina had been blessed by the seemingly stereotypical Asian gift of being academically good and she had no need to rush at the moment. Her grades remained high and all her work and assignments were up-to-date and any homework she had wasn't actually due until next week. The sun shone warmly outside her window and she grabbed her everyday bag, threw her purse and other bits and pieces that girls always seemed to carry with them before plugging in her earphones and heading out towards the mall.

* * *

Head bobbing in time to the strains of The Pretenders's 'Brass In Pocket', the goth scanned the choices of the coffee bar trying to decide how much of a caffeine hit she needed. She had pretty much exhausted the options that the mall offered, picking up a new nail polish of the glittery purple variety with matching eyeshadow and lipstick as well as a new top and skirt. As she looked at the big beverage menu, she saw something out of the corner of her eye through the large window. Across from the coffee bar was a small clothes shop she never paid much attention to but for some reason, her eye had been caught by a display in its window. Ducking out of the queue, Tina made her way over to have a closer look.

It was a million miles away from her chosen style. This was a dress for the likes of Quinn, Santana or any of the Cheerios girls. It was cut with a V-neckline at the front and back and was sleeveless with ties at the top of the shoulders instead while the material was soft and chiffon-like with a light lining underneath and the colour was a powdery lilac. By some invisible power, Tina went in and asked the friendly assistant to try on the dress.

* * *

Inside the cubicle, the goth shed her big black boots and lace hold-ups along with her black clothing before stepping into the dress and pulling up the zip. Tina must have stared at herself in the mirror for what seemed like ages because she heard the assistant call out to her to ask if she needed any help. Tentatively, Tina lifted aside the curtain to show the assistant who took one look at her and smiled broadly with genuine appreciation. The bodice hugged her torso before floating gently out to sit just at her knee.

"What do you think?" asked Tina shyly. She didn't recognise the Tina Cohen-Chang who had looked back at her in the mirror. That Tina looked like she might have fit in with any of the other girls at school, she looked gentler, more approachable not like the shy defensive girl who dressed in order to keep other people at a distance.

"You look amazing," enthused the woman. "Wait there a moment," she instructed as went over to another row of racks while Tina continued to gaze mystified at her reflection.

The assistant returned with a pair of little flat white pumps and bade the girl to try them on with the dress then urged her to do a twirl which Tina obeyed with a shy little spin. It fascinated her to see the way the dress swished and moved around her with barely a sound – for once, Tina felt like a proper girl and teamed with the pumps, she had a sudden desire to go skipping through a meadow of cornflowers while birds sang and bunnies hopped around her. It was all very ungoth-like but she didn't care. Tina sighed as she realised how proud her mother would be when she found out her daughter had bought something 'normal' out of her own volition.

It was a forgone conclusion that Tina would buy both the dress and pumps and she went for a last spin when she stopped and went a deep shade of red. Inside the doorway, Finn was leaning against a pillar, mouth agape as he blatantly gawped at her. They stared at each other silently whilst the assistant looked from one to another before breaking the silence.

"Can I help you, sir?"

Finn shook his head but was unable to say anything. The woman looked concernedly at Tina. "Are you alright, miss? Do you know him?"

"Oh, no, it's OK," recovered Tina. "He's in my class at school." She didn't know why she said that instead of saying he was her friend. Perhaps it was because she knew he wasn't really her friend but just someone she sometimes spoke to at school. What was troubling her now was the fact he had seen her out of her comfort zone and what the consequences of it might be.

The assistant eyed Finn suspiciously. "Are you sure? I can ask him to leave."

Finn seemed to remember where he was and who with and looked at Tina apologetically. "Sorry Tina. I was walking past and saw you here and um…" he floundered. He knew how it would sound if he said he went in just to watch her – it would be a quick call to the police to report a peeping tom, especially if that shop assistant had her way.

"Honestly, it's fine," she said reassuringly to both of them, her composure now back in place. "I guess it is a bit of a surprise to see me in something like this," she said it more to herself than anyone else. She then turned to Finn. "So, uh, what do you think?" she prayed that he wouldn't tell her she looked stupid or out of place.

He took a moment before speaking. "You look… pretty. Really pretty." He smiled at Tina who could only bite her lip shyly.

* * *

Finn had taken one of his occasional trips to the mall, simply to wander around and clear his head. He didn't have a lot of money to spend but he enjoyed just being out of the house and every so often, he would see something that warranted his attention enough to buy it.

He was on his way towards the music store when a flash of blue and black hair had made him turn to look. He stopped, not believing his eyes. Through the store window, he saw a figure which looked like the goth in his Glee Club but it couldn't possibly be. Goths didn't wear soft summery dresses or twirl in front of mirrors. On closer inspection, he saw that it was, indeed, Tina and she was almost unrecognisable – in a good way. It was an once-in-a-lifetime moment and Finn went inside the shop, unable to tear his eyes from her.

The dress she wore showed off her gentle curves and the smooth skin of her throat and arms while the shoes completed the outfit with a feminine air. She was, in a word, beautiful. Then, of course, she saw him and the spell was, if not broken, then at least interrupted.

* * *

Seeing that she was now going to get little response from either of the two young people, the woman took charge of the situation and spoke to the goth. "If you want to go back and get changed, I'll ring through those items for you."

Tina was about to do as the assistant suggested when Finn stepped in. "No," he said as both females looked at him in surprise. "I mean, erm, could you just take off the tags and we can carry home the other clothes."

"Finn, what do you think you're doing?" hissed Tina. She knew it, she just knew it! The dumb jock was going to humiliate her and all because of a stupid dress!

"It's cool," he replied soothingly. "Listen, it's a really nice day, you got a summer dress, you might as well wear it out."

Tina looked askance at the woman who shrugged. "He's right, it's a perfect day for it."

Finn smiled triumphantly and ushered her to gather her regular outfit from the cubicle which the assistant placed in a bag and he carried as Tina paid for the outfit.

Tina looked helplessly at Finn as they walked together. The flat shoes felt a bit awkward as she was more used to her chunky boots and the dress felt odd – too light, too loose, too… girly. It was fine when she had been in the relative security of the shop but out here in the open, she felt exposed, vulnerable and very, very self-conscious. She eyed the bag containing her safe, comfortable clothing but Finn had it.

"Where are we headed?" she asked, tugging at the material of the skirt of the dress as they left the mall. She had the definite feeling that the lining was beginning to ride up her legs.

"To the park, we can grab a juice or something, catch some sun and people-watch." Part of him was wondering what he was doing, basically cajoling her into going with him by holding her goth clothes ransom. It didn't fit the natural order of things, jocks and goths weren't meant to mix but there was something compelling about her and he wanted to find out more.


	5. Chapter 5

McKinley High's quarterback had no idea what it was about girls in soft dresses but as he walked to the relatively short distance to the park with Glee Club's resident goth, he had never seen so many guys turn their heads to blatantly check her out with some even letting out low wolf whistles, never mind that she was out with a guy – him!

For Tina's part, she was oblivious to the attention due to her complete focus being split between preventing her dress from riding up and trying to hide behind Finn in an attempt to stop people seeing her in her newly-bought outfit. Aside from anything else, her shyness was so great that she had not only deliberately pushed people away but because she had been teased and slushied so much throughout her school career, she actively ignored any attention from guys as they usually led to teasing or practical jokes and it was now second nature for her to presume that wolf whistles were always aimed at some other girl.

Spotting a juice stand, Finn asked, "Hey, what d'you want to drink? My shout. Tina?" Not hearing a reply, he turned his head to the right and saw…no-one. Turning to the left, he also saw nothing. It was then that he realised that there was a shuffling behind him and when he turned around to look, there was Tina trailing close behind him, head bent, eyes to the ground. She was so engrossed in being inconspicuous that she walked straight into her classmate.

"Oof," the collision brought Tina back to the here and now and a frowning Finn.

"What are you doing back there?" he asked.

"Um…I can't walk properly in these things." It sounded much better than her trying to explain that she didn't want to be seen – by anybody. It made sense in her head but she knew that it would be crazy to anyone else. To try and be more convincing, she kicked off the pumps in Finn's direction and one of them hit him squarely on the shin.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as he bent to rub the injured limb.

Mortified at her clumsiness, Tina clapped a hand to her mouth before genuinely stammering, "I-I-I'm sorry, Finn, I didn't mean to hit you with that. I should go." She made a grab at the bag he held but he held it high out of her reach.

"Whoa there!" He held her at bay with one long arm. "S'ok, it was an accident, you didn't mean to do that." He paused and frowned slightly at her. "Did you?"

She shook her head emphatically. "No, not at all, it really was a mistake."

"Then chillax," he smiled at her as she sheepishly collected her discarded shoes. He guided her to the juice stand and watched as she stared at the choices on offer. With her mind now on something else, Tina had let the shoes dangle carelessly from her fingers and her now-bare toes wriggled on the warm tarmac. If not for the blue streaks, anyone might mistake her for a regular teenaged girl with apparently hippy-ish tendencies. Finn laughed inwardly at the thought.

* * *

They had found a relatively quiet spot of the park where they could settle themselves on the grass, refreshments next to them. Neither of them spoke for a while until Tina looked quizzically at him.

"Why?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Why all this? Why are we here in the park, together?" The whole day was feeling surreal and Tina couldn't shake the feeling of discomfort as if the order of the world had somehow skewed.

Finn shrugged, unconcerned. "Dunno. It's cool though, isn't it? Just hanging out in the sun." He felt tranquil away from the pressures of school-life and the complex social hierarchy that existed there and he liked the company of the quiet goth.

"I guess," she replied a little doubtfully. She wasn't sure how to behave and the tension in her body continued to stretch her nerves taut. Tina closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths as she attempted to compose herself. Her mind drifted as she pictured the look on Artie's face if he were ever to see this particular scene.

The quarterback wondered what was making her lips curve upwards as she lay back on the grass with her eyes shut but he was happy to let her be and come back to the present when she was ready. He stretched out beside her and after a minute or two asked, "Did you really have an easier time when you had your stutter?"

He hadn't meant to be quite so direct but he had blurted it out before he realised. Tina's eyes sprang open, startled and she said nothing as she propped herself up on her elbow and searched Finn's face for signs of malice. Finding nothing but an apologetic expression, she sighed wistfully before answering.

"Yeah, I did. Y'see, I wanted to get to know Artie so badly that it seemed the best way, you know, having common ground and all that?" Her eyes took on a far away look. "Then I realised how mean other kids could be to him and it made me sad and I liked the way some of the students dressed – kinda reflected how I felt – and I noticed how the rest of the school pretty much left them alone. They were the Goths so I copied them and it was great not having anyone bothering me. It stayed that way through all the grades so there was no need to change." Tina looked at him now. "Then all of a sudden, I was getting slushied. How come?"

Finn hadn't seen her return question coming and it took him by surprise. Now it was his turn to stutter.

"I-I-I don't know. Truly I don't. It was just one day and the guys had already decided that you would be a new target. I guess because you wore weird clothes and make-up but you never hung around the other Goths, you were an… um… easy…ah… target." Finn struggled to get the words out and his face was flushed a deep red.

"You could have stopped them. You were, are, the quarterback, the most popular of the popular kids." Tina's tone was faintly accusing and Finn squirmed under her piercing gaze, wishing the ground would swallow him up.

"I know," he said shamefacedly. "I'm sorry, Tina, honest I am. I guess I just wasn't brave enough to stand up to them."

She lowered her gaze and her voice was quiet. "It's done now, we can't change it." She was on the verge of saying more when a voice cut in.

* * *

"It really is them! Told you so!"

Tina and Finn looked in the direction of the speaker and were faced with the sight of Puck and a couple of his cronies and team-mates, one of whom had just spoken.

Puck broke away from them with a, "You guys go on, I'll catch you up." and strode up to his fellow Glee Clubbers (he couldn't bring himself to call himself a 'Gleek'). He stood over Tina with his arms folded. "Well, well, who woulda thought it but I guess if anyone could, it would be Finn Hudson."

"What are you talking about?" Annoyance showed on Finn's face.

"I'm talking about you defrocking the goth, so to speak." He openly leered at Tina, deliberately winding up his former best friend. Letting his eyes travel up and down her, he addressed Finn. "Wow, you must have been real good to get her looking like this. Hope she was just as good for you, man. Whatcha gonna do next? If she's in a Cheerios uniform, let me know."

Finn stood, fists clenched at his side but Tina jumped up equally quickly and put a light restraining hand on his arm which Puck noted and it only served to make him continue his baiting. "So Tina, I take it Friday's off… or do you want to try a real man instead of a half-a-boy or a guy who's dumb enough to think he can knock up his girl without sleeping with her?"

This time, Finn wasn't fast enough to prevent Tina's right hand from curling into a fist and connecting solidly with Puck's jaw to send him reeling. Without a word, she stalked away and after throwing Puck a warning look, Finn gathered their things and followed her.

Puck, who was too shocked to have even thought about following them, simply held his jaw as he stared after them.

* * *

_**I know I have made Puck an asshole in this fic so apologies to anyone who wishes it otherwise. I actually quite like Puck but I needed him to be a bit despicable for this particular fic .**_

_**x**_


	6. Chapter 6

_Holy Hell!_ Tina grimaced as she walked away, rubbing her knuckles which had just socked Noah Puckerman aka Asshole in the jaw. They were beginning to turn red and throb slightly and no doubt there would be some bruising but, damn, it was worth it! She rubbed her sore hand as her brain quickly thought about the quickest way to get home and she was about to set off across the park when she heard a shout from behind her.

"Hey, Tina, wait up!"

She didn't need to turn around to know who it was and if anything, Tina's pace quickened as she continued on her determined way but it was no match for the long strides of Finn Hudson. She came to a sudden halt when he overtook then stood directly in front of her, his soft brown eyes holding hers before Tina seemed to realise what she was doing and averted her gaze to examine the ground.

Finn reached out to hold Tina's shoulder lightly. "Are you ok?" His question was full of concern for her. The quarterback had never seen anything like it and it actually made him rather impressed by her. He was pretty sure that neither Quinn nor Rachel would have taken such direct action in the face of such insults, instead, they would probably respond by running away to cry privately in a corner.

There were no tears from this girl, though. No, she had a grim scowl on her face as she replied, "Yeah." Finn sighed inwardly at the knowledge that she had reverted to her old prickly, mono-syllabic self. "Hurt my fist a bit," she muttered.

He was surprised that she let him take her hand to examine it.

"Ouch!" yelped Tina when he pressed gently on the reddening joints.

"Sorry. We gotta get some ice on that." Finn let go of Tina's hand and let her lead them out of the park. "Uh, Tina?"

"Yeah?" she asked without looking at him.

"Do you want your shoes back?" he held out the dainty pumps which she now regarded with a baleful glare.

"No."

"You'll hurt your feet."

"They're fine," she snapped as she began walking again. Tina knew she was being stubborn and maybe even a bit silly about the situation but it seemed that the little shoes had taken on a significance which summed up everything that was wrong with trying to be something that she wasn't.

* * *

It didn't take long for Tina to reach her house with Finn loping wordlessly beside her and shooting worried glances at her every so often. She tolerated his presence partly because he still had her clothes in his possession and partly because the altercation with Puck had not been his fault.

The first thing Finn noticed about Tina's house was how quiet it was and how _tidy_ it was. Sure, tidy was normal for many families but this was scary tidy, like out-of-a-catalogue tidy and he was immediately worried about knocking something over or breaking things. For her part, Tina seemed oblivious to his reaction and she headed in the direction of what Finn presumed was the kitchen and he duly followed her. The kitchen was in the same condition as the living room and Tina pulled open the freezer door, fishing out a tray of ice cubes and reaching for a teatowel. Feeling a little awkward, Finn saw an opportunity to feel a little less like a tool, he took the ice and cloth from the girl's hands and proceeded to tap out little cubes onto the centre of the teatowel then twist it into a bundle with a practised hand.

Seeing the look on Tina's face, Finn shrugged by way of explanation, "We get a lot of injuries in football." He took her right hand and held the ice pack on the injured area.

She winced when the cold touched her skin but relaxed as it soothed her bruised knuckles. It was a surreal situation – Tina Cohen-Chang sitting in her kitchen while Finn Hudson tended to an injury caused by her punching out Noah Puckerman when he had insulted the quarterback, rather than because of the insults to herself.

After a few minutes of embarrassed silence, Tina broke in with, "Help yourself to a drink." She gestured at the large fridge.

"Um, thanks." Glad for a reason to move, Finn went over to the fridge and looked inside. For such a large object, it held a surprisingly small amount of goods, just a few items of vegetables and meat while the rest was a number of fruit juices and sodas.

As if she read his mind, Tina said, "My folks are away on business a lot so we don't keep much in the house." She gave no indication of how this fact affected her but Finn was sure that it couldn't be easy for a teenager to spend so much time alone, no matter how appealing the idea of having a house to themselves might be.

"Are they away just now?"

"Yeah, Boston this time for a couple of weeks."

"Oh." There wasn't a lot that Finn could say to that except to maybe sound unintentionally pitying or patronising.

"Yeah."

He bought himself a few seconds of time by lingering over his choice before deciding on orange juice. When he turned back, Tina had taken off the ice pack and shaking out the cloth over the sink.

"How's it feeling now?" he asked.

"What? Oh, my hand." She held it up for inspection. "I reckon I'll live." A hint of a smile ghosted her lips before disappearing again.

They stood facing each other awkwardly, both unsure of what to say next. Despite the premature end to their visit to the park, it had been a good day and Finn didn't want to appear rude by staying in Tina's house if she didn't really want him there and Tina didn't want him to feel obliged to stay with her out of duty or pity.

"Thanks for, em, making my ice pack. You didn't need to." She thanked Finn softly.

"No worries, it's the least I could do." He stuck his hands in his pockets so as not to fidget. A slightly strained silence settled over them once again.

"If you like, you can stay for dinner," offered Tina after some inner deliberation.

"Oh, no, you don't have to," he replied. "I don't want to impose or interrupt…" he stopped as he realised how idiotic he must have sounded. She had just told him that she was by herself for a couple of weeks and he knew that she and Artie weren't talking anymore – how could he be interrupting anything? Moreover, he also realised what it must have cost her already to open that much information to him and he felt quite honoured by it. "Y'know, dinner would be great. I'll just call my mom to let her know."

* * *

While she had been pottering in the kitchen, he had been looking carefully around her home and become engrossed in the large collection of vinyl records neatly stacked in a cabinet of their own. Tina had come through to the living room briefly and when she saw what had captured Finn's attention, she explained, "They're mom and dad's. They've always been mad about vinyls and I've lost count of how many they have between them. You can put them on if you like, just make sure you don't scratch them or my life'll be over."

He spent a glorious time playing various records until Tina announced that dinner was ready.

Finn was pleasantly astounded by how Tina could put together a delicious meal from what seemed to be few ingredients but she had managed to throw together a creamy pesto chicken pasta with minimum fuss and which was eaten with maximum appreciation from her guest. During the course of dinner, they discovered a shared love of video games and challenged each other to battle.

They were now engaged in a fierce competition of _Halo 3_ and had been for the past hour and a half.

"Whooo!" whooped Tina. "I am totally kicking your ass!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just taking it easy on you," retaliated Finn who was unwilling to admit that she was, indeed, kicking his ass.

She lightly whacked his arm. "Sexist."

He just grinned cheekily at her before looking at his watch and calling a time-out. It was coming on 9.0.

"I gotta shoot, mom gets annoyed if I'm out late on a school night," apologised Finn who was genuinely sorry to be calling an end to the evening.

"It's alright, I understand, mine's the same."

"Thanks for dinner, it was really great, the best."

"You're welcome," smiled Tina who added in a quieter voice. "It's nice to have someone to eat with."

In that moment, Finn saw the tough goth-shell fall away to reveal an ordinary girl who was too shy to show she was vulnerable just like everyone else.

"If you're not doing anything, I can bring over some movies tomorrow and we can hang out." Finn suggested with what he hoped wasn't like too much puppy-ish enthusiasm. He told himself he was doing her a favour only until her parents got back.

In the meantime, Tina suppressed a shudder as she remembered Puck's earlier text and words. "No, I got Friday free. Movies sounds good, come over after school, I'll get the soda and popcorn."


	7. Chapter 7

"You're kidding me?" Finn stared at the boxes that Tina had thrust in his hand with the direction to look through them and decide what he wanted to watch. "I didn't think these existed anymore." He was looking down at a selection of video cassettes featuring Hammer Horror films.

Tina grinned. "Mom and Pops don't just collect vinyl, they're retro with their VCR too. I remember being little and I would hide behind mom watching the old movies."

"Your parents let you watch horror films when you were little?" Finn couldn't imagine his parents ever letting him do that at such a young age. Maybe that explained Tina's goth obsession.

"It's no big deal. I guess they figured that 'cos it was Hammer, it's not really proper scary." She smiled at the memory. "Besides, you can't beat the Cushing/Lee combination."

"Hey?" Finn looked blankly at her.

"Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee." She went for the most recognisable reference. "Grand Moff Tarkin and Saruman."

Like a cartoon lightbulb in a cartoon going on above a character's head, recognition lit Finn's eyes and he nodded before rummaging in the backpack he had brought with him. After a few moments he fished out a couple of films he had brought in keeping with the 'Friday Fright Night' theme they had gone for.

Tina's face blanched and the enthusiasm drained when she saw the titles. 'The Omen' and 'The Shining'.

"What's the matter?" asked Finn when he noticed her discomfort.

"It's…uh… you're gonna think I'm totally dumb…" she chewed her lower lip in embarrassment.

"What is it?"

"Well, um, I should maybe have said that 'Fright Night' should be more 'Gore Night'."

Finn shook his head. "I don't follow."

"The thing is, Finn, I can do blood and guts and all that but I can't do ghosty, supernatural stuff."

"But what about all those Draculas and Frankensteins?" He couldn't quite reconcile the girl who could watch any number of old-fashioned horror films with the girl who couldn't stand any other type horror.

"Those ones are different," argued Tina. "Like, the blood resembles ketchup and everything's a bit more hammy – you can't take them as seriously. The ones you brought, well, they give me the heebie-jeebies." She gave an involuntary shudder. "Spooky kids give me nightmares and films that mess with your head give me the creeps for ages after seeing them." Tina gazed apologetically up at Finn. "I'm really sorry."

However, Finn was not one to give up so easily, especially since 'The Shining' was one of his favourite films. "How about we make a deal? One of your Hammer flicks for one of mine?"

Tina shook her head. "Really, no, I can't, I'm a total wimp like that."

"Go on, please?" he cajoled.

"Nuh-uh," her pigtails swung in time to the motion of her head.

"Pllleeeaaasssssssseee?" he widened his eyes at her until Tina couldn't keep a straight face anymore and relented.

"Ok, I guess it's fair," she conceded dubiously.

"Cool," smiled Finn as he resumed looking over the choice of films as Tina assembled the soda and popcorn she had promised. Having chosen 'Dracula Has Risen From The Grave', the goth took the tape and slotted it into the VCR and waited for the familiar whirr of wheels which signalled that the tape had started playing.

* * *

She settled onto the large, squashy sofa and instinctively drew the quilted blanket over her knee. She looked to see where Finn was and was surprised when he dimmed the lights before joining her.

"Got to set the mood for movies," he said by way of an explanation as he accepted the drink that was handed to him.

Tina was beginning to regret her decision to agree to a horror movie night with a jock of appeared to enjoy all things spooky.

Tina's own choice had been fine, with both chuckling at the 60's style effects while at the same time being impressed by Christopher Lee's looming presence.

However, it was a different story when it came to Finn's choice of film. As soon as he put on the DVD and the music started, Tina drew her knees up to her chin and hugged them to her whilst casting sidelong glances at her companion. It astonished her that he could even laugh or smile at some of the scenes and she tried hard to watch bravely without thinking about the way the shadows on her walls now flickered in a vaguely menacing manner in the blue glow of the television screen.

She was doing well until the moment she had been dreading – as soon as the twin girls appeared holding hands and looking suitably creepy and appearing unexpectedly for short periods of time, Tina found herself drawing deeper into the sofa and raising the blanket higher and higher as the film progressed.

* * *

Finn had been completely engrossed in Jack Nicholson's portrayal and when the end credits began to roll, he let out a satisfied smile and looked over at Tina. His mouth opened in surprise at the unexpected sight then he grinned.

During the course of the film and without him noticing, the goth had drawn the blanket up and over her head and Tina was now completely covered with only her eyes barely visible although at times, these were also covered by a quick movement of her hand to bring a corner of the fabric to cover her vision. If only she had earplugs to block out the sound, she would have been a happy girl.

A wicked glint crossed Finn's face as he studied Tina's still form transfixed by the screen and unable to move until the reappearance of lights signalled safety to do so.

The quarterback quietly leaned closer to her and with a sharp movement, tugged the blanket away while at the same time shouting 'BOO!' loudly behind her.

The reaction was immediate.

Tina let out a shriek of horror-film pitch as her body jumped a few inches from her seat and the bowl of popcorn she had been cradling in her lap shot up and showered through the air in a cascade of sticky white blobs.

Her eyes were wide with fright as they shone in the hazy gloom and they stared uncomprehendingly at Finn. After a few seconds, he noticed that the shock had perhaps been a bit too much and Tina's eyes had now become wet.

* * *

"Oh my God, Tina, I'm so sorry." He rushed up to switch on the nearby table-lamps and turn off the player before turning to face the girl who was now brushing away the tears that ran silently down her cheeks. "It was meant to be a joke, I totally didn't mean to frighten you like that!" Finn sat close to her and put a strong arm round her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "I thought you were kidding when you said you didn't do ghosts. Or at least, I didn't think you were quite so bad with them."

Taking deep breaths to try and compose herself, Tina let herself be enveloped against Finn's strong chest by his muscular arms. When she felt the tears had stopped, she gave him a watery smile. "I'm ok now. Really, you just gave me a bit of a scare, that's all."

He thought her words were an understatement but said nothing. It also didn't escape their attention that neither tried to move away from the closeness of each other, rather, it was the opposite.

Finn felt good having Tina in his arms, his fingers stroking the long, soft hair while she enjoyed the warmth of his body next to hers and it just seemed… right.

Finally, reluctantly, he drew away slightly to look at her.

Tina lifted her eyes to meet his and she felt his hand tilt her chin up to him and saw his mouth slowly lower to hers.

_Oh my God! He's going to kiss me. Finn Hudson is going to kiss me!_

Tina closed her eyes as his lips met hers in a kiss that was soft and warm and which sent a tingle down both their spines. The initial hesitancy trickled away to be replaced by a new confidence as the kiss became firmer and tongues explored each other.

* * *

Eventually, Finn and Tina broke apart and they studied each other with shy smiles.

"So…" said Tina.

"So…" responded Finn in kind.

"Uh, this was a mistake?" Tina thought it best to say it first rather than be shot down in flames.

"Oh," Finn's smile disappeared and he looked crestfallen. "It was?"

"I guess, y'know, I won't say anything to anyone and I, um, would rather you didn't either. I don't want everyone knowing that you gave me a pity kiss." She picked at some fallen puffs of corn, she couldn't look him in the face.

"Is that what you think it was? A pity kiss?" Finn became indignant. "I don't go around giving out pity kisses – if I did, Kurt would probably be first in line!" He took her hand. "Tina, look at me."

She didn't respond and once again, Finn had to cup her chin and move her head to face him. "Tina Cohen-Chang, did it ever occur to you that I might have kissed you because I _wanted_ to?"

Tina bit her lip anxiously. "Why would you want to do that? All the girls fall at your feet, you can have anyone you want. The Cheerios are practically lined up for you."

"I don't want all the girls and I don't want the Cheerios lined up for me." He sighed a little impatiently. _How could such a smart girl be so slow? _"Tina, I kissed you because I wanted to, because I think you're cool and I like being with you."

"Oh." Tina hung her head, slightly shamed by Finn's words. She prided herself on not judging anyone and here, she found herself doing exactly that to a guy who she thought had no business being interested in her for the simple reason that he was popular and she was not.

She caught Finn's eye who was looking at her, worried that what he believed was a promising beginning to a new relationship was, in fact, quickly coming to an end.

With nothing to lose, Tina did what any self-respecting girl would do and leaned close to give Finn a deep and passionate kiss.

When they stopped for air, Tina grinned and said one word.

"Ditto."

* * *

**thanks to everyone who has been reading, reviewing and alerting. hope u enjoyed this fic and pairing xxx**


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